Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

So I know I’ve been needing to make a change in my life. Specifically for my body. That was the motivation behind The Challenge from back in the spring. And FYI I came in second in The Challenge losing around 15 pounds. I’ve put a little of that back on because I’ve stopped running frequently. A goal would be to regularly do CrossFit workouts. They are intense, but I’m probably not near in shape for them right now.

I’d heard of Power 90 and P90X before. But didn’t know if they were gimmicky or not. My wife owns more Tae Bo videos than you can find at WalMart. And those just seemed dumb to me. But then I started hearing from people I knew in real life about P90X. And finally caught the infomercial. Then saw the countless “transformation” videos on YouTube. And thought, “I should do this!”

I know I need to add strength and flexibility in my body. And my back/abs/core are pretty pitiful. It seems every other month or so my lower back will get really sore and stiff. So I was thinking P90X can help me with some overall fitness goals. Plus pullups are hard, and I’d love to do a lot of those.

After searching eBay and CraigsList I decided to buy a legit copy instead of risking getting scammed. But I found a great deal where I got 25% off. So I bought the videos, bought a pullup bar (from Walmart.com), and started it last week. Here’s my one week review:

The first three weeks are exactly the same. Then there is more variety afterwards. But here is how the first week shook out.

• Day One – Chest & Back + Ab Ripper X: It was lots of pushups and pullups. Like a lots. And a few rows. So I did twelve exercises then repeated those twelve. You had your basic pushups, but then wide, military, diamond, “under the fence”, and decline. And you had wide grip pullup, reverse grip, close grip overhand pullups. And then some rows. I tried to do the “Hundred Pushup” plana  few times. But this was pretty tough. And pullups are tough. I can knock out about four or five maybe with a few days rest. But doing multiple sets of different types…I tire out quickly. I only had some weights that my wife already owned (15lbs) so doing rows with those was almost pointless. But buying dumbbells is expensive and I’d already bought the set of DVD’s and the pullup bar. Ab Ripper X? Man, that’s a weak point of mine. And it kicked my tail. It burned. But I did better than I expected. But there are exercises where I’m supposed to lie on my back and point my leg straight up to the sky. But my inflexible body can’t do that. Hopefully it will w/in the next 90 days. But Ab Ripper X definitely burned. And I took breaks instead of doing all 339 reps of core exercises.
• Day Two – Plyometrics: It’s basically a lot of jumping around. It takes some balance.  But gets your heart rate up. And makes you sweat some.
• Day Three – Arms and Shoulders + Ab Ripper X: Curls, shrugs, presses, dips, kickbacks, etc. Just lots of that over and over. For some of the exercises 15lbs was perfect, for some it was too little, and for others it was too much (if you’re wanting to get in the 8-12 rep range). But it gave me a good workout I think. It produced some soreness. And more Ab Ripper X. Could tell my abs were sore from before.
• Day Four – Yoga X: On the front end I was wondering if I’d like this or not. I know some people love Yoga. And I know a guy who likes to do the Yoga X video often. This video was 90 minutes! Let’s just say I did only 30 minutes of it. And I pushed to get to that 30 minutes. I hated it. I’m inflexible. And you gotta hold these poses and positions. And it takes strength to do it too. And I was already sore from the first three days so it was tough. And not enjoyable. But my aim is to finish it at some point. It made me sweat more than the others so far I think. And I only did it 30 minutes (and some of that 30 minutes was me standing up saying, “I can’t do THAT!”
• Day Five – Legs & Back + Ab Ripper X: This had lots of squats, lunges, and more pullups. The pullups were about like the first day of pullups. Tough. But hoping to improve. The leg exercises? TOUGH. For me at least. When I’ve been to gyms I’ve never done much in the way of weighted squats. And when I did, my back ended up hurting in a few days. These were all body weight leg exercises. But it was over and over and over. My legs were burning afterwards for a bit. And I finally had to get a towel to sop up the sweat as I did the workout. But the biggest consequence was the days that followed. My legs were sore as crap! I walked funny. It was the first real sore that affected how I moved around. And more Ab Ripper X. They’re going to get hit three times a week at first it seems.
• Day Six – Kenpo X: It’s a karate workout. Supposedly. It’s a lot of kicking and punching. But I think it’s a cardio workout masked as a karate workout. I guess it’s sort of like Tae Bo now that I think about it.
• Day Seven – X Stretch or Rest: My body is about a flexible as my concrete driveway. So I really need to do the X Stretch workouts. But I took a rest instead. It fell on a full day. That’s my excuse. So I can’t review the Stretch

So after one week I’ve done seven of the 12 DVD workouts. I’ve not done X Stretch; Cardio X; Core Synergetics; Chest, Shoulders, Triceps; and Back & Biceps. The workouts are good. They can be long though. You’re using your body weight for resistance in many of them. But I definitely got sore. At least it’ll tone you and maybe rip you up (IF YOU FOLLOW THE EATING PLAN). But I don’t know that anyone is going to add much bulk.

Think about it, the only chest work you’re doing is variations of pushups. And trust me, they’re not easy. But you’re not getting down on a weight bench and pressing lots of iron above you. Same with the legs. Now my legs are weak already, so I’m not complaining. But sometimes I look at these videos and wonder if the people got big using weights in a regular gym, and then got definition and shredded using P90X? Also, through out the whole 13 weeks, you are only targeting your chest or legs once a week where most weeks your back is getting two days a week. Interesting.

So, after one week what do I think? I think it’s probably too early to have an informed opinion. But my partially informed opinion is that it’s a worthy exercise program. Some people might not want to watch their TV or computer screen for an hour a day. Yes, an hour. And the Yoga is 90 minutes. But I don’t have to drive to the gym or drive home and can manage my kids’ schedules easier if I do it at home as well. I can see why some people love it. But I can see why some think it can get boring. In a real gym can you get in a quicker workout using free weights? Probably. And Tony Horton, while not over the top, is borderline cheesy sometimes on the DVD’s. And I need to get a few more dumbbells to have variety in the poundage to get the best results.

So I think it will be a great program to go through a time or two. Plus, once you have the equipment there’s really nothing else to buy. They will sell you tons of supplements and nutrition drinks and such. They’re probalby good. But it can get pricey too. But the key to remember is that your body composition is 80% what you eat. So unless you’re paying good attention to what you eat, you can have an 8-pack of abs, but have it covered in a sheath of cookies, ice cream, and fried foods so that you never see your abs.

P90X comes with a very detailed eating plan. I’ve not read it yet. I should. But I have to finish eating up the ice cream in my freezer first! I did actually take some “before” pics after I did the fit test. Maybe one day I’ll show them if there’s enough difference after 90 days.

I don’t plan on doing a weekly update about P90X. Maybe after the first full month. But definitely after the 90 days are done.

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I’m not a coffee lover. Not really even a coffee liker. I bet in all of 2009 I drank one or two cups. And that was from the coffee maker in my office. My office mate drinks it like mad. I have a friend whose blog has a title about it. One who argues on blogs about it.

Growing up my stepdad drank it everyday. I was used to the smell. But never really tried it. But then later the culture decided it was cool. And then I moved to Clinton where there were a couple of coffee shops. I tried to like it. It’s what I’m supposed to do, right? I’m cool if I like a $4 cup of java. But I just can’t make it work.

Yesterday I went to a coffee shop here in town to get a bit of work and reading done. I still usually like the vibe of a coffee shop. But I got a Coke Zero. I almost got a Vitamin Water.If it had been really cold outside I might have gone with hot tea or hot chocolate. Sometimes I go in and just grab a chair or table and don’t even buy anything at all.

But I used to think I needed to drink coffee to validate myself or to fit in. No more.

Do you like coffee? Why so? And if not, why not?

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Looking back on the archives I brought over I realize there were times when I would post quite often. And it’d be about pretty much whatever. I didn’t have to have anything big or grand to post about. Maybe it was about being in downtown Jackson and my brakes not working. Maybe it was an old Friday’s Feast. Maybe it was just about my sleep habits.  But what ever it was, I just posted.

But somewhere along the way I started almost worrying about what I’d write. Would it be interesting? Would anyone care? Would it get a comment? So I’d get stuck in over analyzing things and try to think of the right thing to write about or say. And that would basically freeze me into inactivity. And I’d not post. And then since it had been a while since my last post, I thought I needed a “really good one” for my come back. So then I’d over analyze the next “really good” post. And then I’d still just think, “I should write something tomorrow…”

So no promises, but I intend just to write. And if no one reads it, well, so what? It should be fun, right? I mean, sure, still put some thought and effort into things. Each post shouldn’t just be a stream of conscious. But it doesn’t have to be the next award winning writing either.

I remember when I posted my first real post I ended with these words:

What sort of voice will the blog have? Will it focus on specific things, or anything goes? How personal will it be? Well, it’s still little more than an embryo…so it has lots of growing and maturing to do before it develops a recognizable personality. I hope you hang around with me to see how things go.

And while I know it’s no longer an embryo, I think maybe my blog is going through puberty. It’s experiencing some changes. And is trying to figure out it’s place. There was a time when I thought I’d blog mainly about MSU sports, or Christian culture, or what happened to me and my family today, or what tech stuff I wish I could own or whatever else. But instead of trying to find a niche and impress anyone in particular, I think I’m just going to write what’s on my mind. We’ll see how it goes.

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…it’s a new life…for me!

That is a quote from a Nina Simone song. I think I first heard it in a movie, but I’ve heard it now and then since. But it’s a pretty cool song. But the phrase repeated often is, “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me. And I’m feeling good.”

As we move into 2010 (do you say twenty-ten or two-thousand-ten?) I think there’s reason to be feeling good. I know everyone looks towards the new year as a time to make resolutions and changes and drop big mile markers on their life’s roadmap. I’ve never been big on resolutions. But maybe I can list out some intentions. Maybe that’s a softer way of saying things. But if I’m honest I do realize changes I need and/or want to make in my life.  So here they are, in no particular order:

• Read more. Now it starts with me being in The Word more. I really have no excuse. And You Version now has over 20 reading plans that I can download and print, read online, or read right on the iPhone. No excuse, right? But I know it should be my base in life. But I also want to read to my kids more; both the Bible and other stuff. Addie is a voracious reader on her own, but she really likes for me to read with her too. Ella is still putting together how to read, but has grown in her interest lately. And little Rowan, not yet 2, will go get a book and crawl up on the couch and call you over to him. So all of our kids like books.
• But I want to read for fun too. Good fiction books can really carry me away sometimes. But not only fiction but non fiction too. I want to learn more though books, and from that learning put that knowledge into life experiences.
• I intend to blog more. I always miss blogging. And I’ve not done it much at all lately. But I always mean too. And then I’ll go back and read some of my older stuff and really get the big again. Especially if I go back a few years. I need to figure out how to get my way older stuff imported into here. I think I have to juggle some old mysql databases and all. We’ll see. But in blogging more also comes more interactions with other blogs.
• I want to take more pictures. Whenever we look back at old pictures we always wish we had taken more pictures more often. I got a nice camera a year or so ago, but I’ve been hamstrung with out getting a good lens to go with it. Time to eliminate that excuse.
• I intend to eat cleaner. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I think I’ve probably got enough toxicity in my body right now that eating “clean” would benefit me in a whole host of ways.
• With eating better also comes exercise. I don’t want to try to be on any magazine cover. But to gain some cardiovascular endurance, a little muscle, and a lot of flexibility is where I want to go. I’ve got three small kids. I want to be around for their kids…and not just watch them from the recliner either. Without a doubt I need to work on core strength and flexibility.
• See growth and depth occur in the body of The Orchard. It’s been a great two years, but I think now that we’ve found a place (building) to call our own, we’re about to see lots of potential become realized. It’s going to take work and effort and prayer. But it’s exciting.
• Serve more. We’ve talked about it as a family, but we want to teach our kids what it means to serve and give of ourselves.  There are many opportunities around Oxford for serving too.
• Put some work into MissSportsTalk.com. It’s a good site, but it has lots of potential to be a great site. I’ve even considered starting up a podcast for it. I think there are plenty of people who would be willing to help out. And there’s a base of people already there who would listen I think. But articles and interviews for the site as well.
• Have real conversations with more people. Reconnect with old friends. But use the phone or the email or the coffee shop or whatever to connect with more people.
• Take my wife on a vacation: just the two of us.
• Take my kids on dates, just one of them and me, from time to time.

So there’s a quick mind dump. I know I wasn’t very specific with some of them. Instead of “exercise more” I could have said, “Run a half marathon in 2010″, but I didn’t.  Like I said, these are just some intentions. But hopefully they become reality.

But either way, it’s a new dawn…it’s a new day…it’s a new life for me.

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I’m still a little numb today from yesterdays loss to LSU. Normally I’d be happy we hung with them. But we should have beaten them. We had first and goal down only six. I thought about it all afternoon. I thought about it when I went to bed. I thought about it in the shower this morning. It’s amazing how much the results of a football game can consume my thoughts and emotions.

Now I wasn’t a total recluse after the game and make the rest of the day with my wife miserable. On the contrary. We actually had a full evening planned. A good friend of ours is the Executive Director of Memphis’ branch of Bethany Christian Services. The organization specializes in adoption services and ministry to orphans and single moms. There was a fund raising gala last night and we went as guests. And even though there was conversation with friends about the game, talk of how close MSU was to pulling it off, and a few woulda-coulda-shoulda comments, I was convicted by the night’s end.

There were videos, testimonies, pictures, and even a sermon about the good that Bethany is doing. But also about the needs that are still there. The atrocious conditions many motherless and fatherless children are living in both locally and globally, and the various ways we can extend both grace and mercy to them. What we experienced made for a long conversation on the return trip home. Beverly and I both felt called to do something. But what? We don’t know.

Help support Bethany Christian Services financially? Provide foster care? Adopt domestically or internationally? I’ve no clue. On one hand it seems scary. So life changing. But on the other….it seems….like something Jesus is asking lots of us to do. Especially in light of James 1:27.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27

So as I contemplate the important things…like SEC football and orphans, I have to ask myself which are the really important things. And why don’t they keep me awake on a Saturday night?

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Woohoo!

When I was exploring the move to Oxford, I asked Pat, “Is there a Chick-Fil-A in Oxford?” It was that important of a factor. But I guess not ultimately important because I came anyway. But early in the spring it was announced that Oxford would be getting a Chick-Fil-A. I was ecstatic. Well, last Thursday it opened. I wasn’t one of the ones to camp out all day/night Wednesday in order to get free chicken for a year.

BUT I did take the kids to eat supper there Thursday evening. Me and half of Lafayette County. But it turned out to be  the best customer service I’ve ever experienced!

We pull up and we’re in line. A nice lady came to my window to ask if we were dining in or driving through. She assured me that our wait would not be long inside. So we parked and walked in (after further assurances that she would help us exit our parking space which could be blocked by the drive thru line.)

It’s just me and my three kids. Somehow my wife missed this trip. But we walk up to the restaurant and a lady opens the door for us greets us by giving the children each a little Chick-Fil-A cow toy. I start dropping some “Thank You’s” so they all say “My Pleasure.” We walk in and things seem crazy but organized. We find a spot in line and we’re only two deep. Then a lady comes up and asks me if I’d like for her to reserve a table close to the play area. Huh? Are you serious? Sure, why not. So she goes and gets a high chair and all for Rowan and gets a placemat that sticks to the table for him too.

I order my food. She reappears and tells me where my table is. I start to let Addie hold Rowan and send her and Ella to the table. The lady asks if I want her to walk my kids to their table. Sure! Then she tells me I can go ahead to the table if I want, and she’ll bring my food to me. Wow. Ok. Why not?

So then as we start to eat a trey gets pushed on the table and Ella’s bottle of chocolate milk falls off the table, down my leg, and then onto the floor. So someone appears out of no where and cleans it up with a towel. And brings us a new bottle of chocolate milk. Then people bring us balloons, ranch dipping sauce, and ketchup. And napkins.

So we eat our chicken and enjoy things. But as we’re finishing up the girls want to go into the play area. So I send them on their way and then scarf down a bit more chicken while my son finishes his fruit cup. As we’re cleaning up and all, a man comes to help. So I’m thinking, this is awesome! These folks are really wanting me to come back. Everyone was so helpful.

Well I go to get the girls from the playroom Ella is distressed. I see that a small scab from a previous booboo got hit and was bleeding on her leg. So I’m holding Rowan trying to find some napkins. I worker sees me and tells me to sit tight while she goes to get something for her foot. She comes back w/ an antiseptic wipe and a band-aid. I thank her and was about to clean up Ella. But she says, “Sit her here and I’ll fix her up.” She then proceeds to clean all the blood off of Ella’s ankle and foot, and then puts the band-aid on gently and asks Ella if everything is okay.

So this was far and beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. Now I know that Chick-Fil-A brought in some “professional restaurant openers” for the first week or so. But I was in awe. I’ll be back. A lot.

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We have an eight year old girl and a four year old girl at our house. That combination makes for some exciting times at our home. Some really fun times and funny times. But that combination can also produce whining, aggravation, frustration, crying, mean looks, and sometimes tears…and that’s just how I sometimes feel!

Just kidding.

But at times my two girls get along perfectly. You’d think they were custom made for each other. But more and more lately I’ve seen the two of them starting to act rude, mean, quite disrespectful toward each other. And amazingly often times it’s either perpetrated or perpetuated by the oldest. She seems to purposefully try to stir up and aggravate her younger sister. And my four year old usually is happy to comply and will answer with a snarl, shriek, whine, cry or other sound that I don’t like.

So I have had a talk with them. Actually multiple talks, but the last one was my most serious. I think I realized I need to not let my own emotions get stirred up when a fight breaks out. Usually I get frustrated by the sounds my younger one is making, frustrated by what the oldest is doing to make the youngest make those sounds, and frustrated why the oldest thinks it’s necessary for her to intentionally create this chaos. Why can’t she just act in a nice, loving, humble, kind, self controlled manner?

Of course the answer is that she’s a person. And all of us people have times we’re thinking wrong thoughts and sometimes we act out on them. But last night as I was lying in the still of the bedroom after the whole house was asleep I was asking God to shape their hearts to be more and more like His. And for him to pour into their lives the fruit of His spirit (love,  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control). But as I prayed I realized that He was asking me to help pour those things into their lives. That my wife and I are to be the primary shapers of who they become. And for me to pour anything into their lives (their buckets), it’s got to be in my life (bucket) to begin with. That’s humbling.

Joe Paslay told me that a long time ago as I was interviewing to work at Camp Lake Stephens. His talk was from the angle of being a counselor and pouring into campers as they are under your watch for the week. But the concept is the same. I can’t give, teach, show my kids anything into my kids that I am not already understanding and living out myself first. It’s a concept I have known for years! But as the kids grow up, parenting gets more challenging. I thought I was a smart and awesome dad when I had just one child. But it’s getting more challenging as they grow, mature (and sometimes seemingly decrease in maturity).  And I am going to want them to rely on Jesus more and more. And He is showing me that I have to rely on Him just as much or more in order to show Him to them effectively.

Now…add to the mix a boy who just turned 15 months old…and the next couple of decades of my life will be an exciting adventure!

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So to continue on with my Favorite Places series, we land in Colorado. And I’m not sure if it’s more about Copper Mountain, or the actual snow skiing. The first time I’d ever gone snow skiing was when I took the job as youth minister at a church in Amory, MS. A trip was started, but I inherited the planning process midstream. So not really knowing what I was doing, I took a group of adults, college students, and students to Winter Park, CO. I was clueless, but had important people (doctors and lawyers) waiting on me to tell them what to do.

But the trip was good, fun, and built experience. The next time I took a ski trip though, we took the group to Copper Mountain, CO…and I simply fell in love. Now, there’s no real way to explain what snow skiing feels like til you do it. [Before I'd ever put on snow skis I had a guy tell me it was better than "you-know-what". And he was a divorced guy. So he'd know. I'm not ready to make that claim though.] But it’s a feeling of freedom, a rush of thrill and excitement, and then your brain finally clicks with your legs to actually make getting down that mountain a manageable process, and then a productive process….it’s all over. You’re in love with skiing.

So since my first trip to Copper Mountain I’ve actually been back three or four other times. The mountain is brilliantly laid out with a rising degree of difficulty from right to left. And to stay in East Village was always our practice. Nice area, not crowded, and the Super B lift is right there to zip you to the top of the blacks and blues. To ride the lift up and look back over your shoulder and see the snowy mountains sparkling in the sunlight…it was the first moment in my life that I was truly struck by God’s beauty. It really took my breath.

But the feeling of the bulky clothes, the horrible boots that are impossible to walk in, the sound of the snow crunching under your boots as you trek to the lift, inevitable wind/snow burn, the burn in your quads as you try to rip down the mountain at the edge of your physical abilities, the gnawing hunger at lunch battling the knowledge that you can spend more money in a ski resort cafeteria than some nice restaurants back home, learning how to manage a folded up trail map with gloves on, the runny nose that sometimes produces frozen snot if the weather is right, the laughter as you watch your friend take a fall that should have broken at least two bones but didn’t, listen to your friend laugh at you 15 minutes later for the same reason, staying on the mountain for as long as possible, hoping to catch the final lift ride to the very top, the last run of the day, taking those horrid boots off and your feet almost audibly crying with joy, the hot shower, the food that tastes better than usual, the funny sun burnt faces of all your friends as you sit around in pajama pants and gym shorts (and shirts too, of course), the card games (kemps, spoons, Australian rat screw, slap jack, and other “physical” card games), the bloody noses, ….and that’s just the half of it!

I would go skiing 17 times a year if I could. I like the beach. I really do. But I love the mountains too. And being able to share it with people you truly enjoy being around makes it all the better. You make memories, and can relive them too. I’ve been at the most random of places, and sometimes get a memory so vivid about Copper Mountain that my body almost sighs in regret that I’m not really there.

[If you’re ever looking to take a group trip snow skiing, I highly encourage you to contact Don Holmes at High Point Travel. I’d have been lost with out him every single year we went. Plus he’s an outstanding guy

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I watched with anticipation when the iPhone came out two years ago. A few people I knew got one. They even let me hold it now and then. I witnessed the price drop, the backlash, then the giftcard response by Apple. Then last summer I saw the 3G release and friends left and right were buying it. Only $199, right? That’s not cheap, but it’s not unreasonable in the smart phone market. But I still watched from a far. But now I even got to fiddle with an application now and then over the last year.

But then the 3Gs was announced: more features and still low(?) price. Could it get any better? Turns out Pat was somehow eligible for the upgrade even though he was the first in line for the 3G at the Oxford AT&T Store last summer. So though we didn’t make a “released date purchase” last Friday, we scoured the local AT&T stores after the release weekend for an iphone. There were none w/in 75 miles it seemed.

But yesterday The Wife and I went to the Apple Store in Memphis to grab one. [Pat had succumbed to ordering from the Apple.com store and having it shipped to his house.] I’ve always liked going into an Apple Store, but this was my first purchase in one. It was a good experience.

I was worried at first because I was wondering if they would have any in or not. I’d called a few times since they’d opened and it was only a recording saying they were closed. But as I walked up there were lots of others walking up too. And I walk in and the place was crowded. I tell the guy in the orange shirt what I’m here for and he (I’ll call him Mr. Soul Patch) instructed me where to wait after I told him I had checked my eligibility and was good to go.

I only waited about 8 minutes (give or take) until a Specialist in a blue shirt came to assist me (I’ll call him Mr. Weekend Worker). We didn’t go to a desk or to a chair, we just stood in the software aisle as he took my info, put it in a handheld device, checked my stuff, swiped my card, and then said, “Let’s go activate your phone.” Wow, simple procedure.

The first thing that happened after my phone was activated was to receive a text from Pat: “I just canceled my order.” He knew I was at the Apple Store. So I was going to try to get him a phone as well. Turned out it worked after some initial hesitation. So I left the Apple Store with two 16gig 3Gs iphones (one black, one white).

So I’m pumped. So we celebrate by going for a visit to Target (wouldn’t you?) So The Wife looks as things wives look at. I look at the books and electronics. I make a call or two. And decide the phone sounds “muffled“. But maybe it’s just me. So as we leave I hand it to my wife and call it with her phone. She agrees. So….I take it back not knowing how long this will take.

So I walk back into the Apple Store and wait at the front counter where there are orange shirted folks there. I’m not really sure of the color coding, but I figured I’d just wait here first. But a blue shirted girl walks up (I’ll call her Miss Pessimistic/Confusing). I tell her I just bought this like two hours ago and it sounds muffled, so can I swap it? She gets a screwy face and says, “Um, you probably need to make an appointment with a Genius (they’re in the very back. Must be smarter than specialists and orange shirts) and they can determine what to do. She told me we couldn’t do an exchange, but the Genius folks could swap it out.” Wait, huh?

She explained that again, but it still made no sense. So I told her I was from out of town, drove here for the express purpose of buying an iPhone going to Target, but I didn’t have time to make an appointment. So she said to wait on the orange shirt girl next to her. So I finally get to talk to her (I say finally, it’s been 3 minutes). So I tell my new orange shirt friend (I’ll call her Miss Multiple Piercings But In A Cute Way) my issue. She asks for the phone and it’s number. So she dials my number, hands me a desk phone and says, “Talk!” So I say, “Hey, Orange Shirted Friend, it’s hot outside. It’s supposed to be the hottest day of the summer. So swap my phone quickly and we’ll both be happy and then I’ll go sit in my air conditioned minivan. But don’t let it fool you. I’m still a cool guy.”

She acts like she’s still not to sure about it all. Then she says, “The thing is…we’re all out of 16gig Black” I say, okay, I’ll take a white one if I can walk out here with it and get in my cool minivan with my wife and kid.” So she says, “okay”, meet me over by the iMac. So I do, she brings it, we activate it, and I leave happy. But me ending up with a white iphone (and Pat choosing one) makes me laugh because of this.

So, what have I learned in my first 24 hours of iPhone ownership:

• It eats battery like no tomorrow. My SE phone could hold a charge for over 2 days sometimes.
• There are more apps than I know what to do with. But it looks like some cool games for me my kids too.
• It seems there’s an unspoken fraternity of iphone owners.
• Little kids like iphones too. My girls weren’t with us when we got it, but they immediately thought it was their new toy.
• I get nervous when my 4yo plays it. But she’s only played “Memory” so far.
• My 8yo will be a wiz at it soon.
• My goal is to keep it out of my 1yo’s mouth. He’ll slobber in the speaker and ruin it otherwise. Like he did two previous phones.
• I have to get a case soon. I’m too nervous about it getting busted. And it might help me be a little more comfortable w/ the kids holding it.
• The Wife scoffs at it right now, but she’ll be acclimated before long. I have a feeling.

Got any apps to recommend?

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Yesterday I decided to start a blog series of my favorite places in the world, or at least in my world. They will have to be in no particular order because they can shift and change at the whim of a memory. But since it was Camp Lake Stephens that prompted this list, I decided to go with it first.

I never went to CLS as a kid. I would see the schedule put up on the bulletin board at my church, but never had anyone ask me about going, never had a desire to go, and so it was never really on my radar. I think the first time I went was for a “Dare To Lead” retreat my senior year of high school. And I remember very little about it. I remember playing some “Name That Tune” game in the pavilion, a girl that was pretty, the biscuits in the cafeteria, and walking around the lake and through the woods by myself when i was probably supposed to be somewhere else. That’s it.

But the May of my senior year my church had a guy come to be the youth director for for the summer: Darrell Whitaker. Darrell had worked at CLS as both a counselor and program director. He met Christ there, answered the call to ministry there, and met his (future) wife there. So he thought highly of the place. That summer he took me over to experience a Friday Night at CLS (the last night of the week). There I got to experience supper in the cafeteria with over 100 kids, talent show (both the funny and the serious stuff), bon fire w/ a mini passion play, and meet Joe Paslay, the camp director.

I left not knowing exactly what to think. Everyone seemed so energetic and outgoing. They danced and sang and acted crazy/silly all the time. That wouldn’t work for my more reserved nature, right? Well, long story short is that my freshman year of college I applied to work at CLS. Got the job, and dove in. I ended up working three summers there (Joe said I was a good counselor for the last two of them!), volunteered for about four more during Camp Rainbow (when the mentally/physically challenged campers come), served as a board member for years, and tried to go by as much as possible.

And now if I ever go visit, it feels … well, it feels “right”. It has lots of memories for me. It shaped me in a lot of ways. I made some mistakes there and learned from them. I was stretched in a lot of ways as a counselor. Had some fears that were tackled. Made some life long friends. Met my wife there. Learned a lot about God and ministry. Met people at CLS who later I came to work with at their churches. And all in all, CLS might have impacted my life as a “place” more than any other place.

Interestingly enough Darrell is now the Camp Director at CLS. And Pat, my pastor and boss, was once my camper way back when. And Bob Rambo who was my pastor in Clinton I also met while at CLS while his son was in my cabin. And I could make a really long list of friends and ministry colleagues and that I met through CLS.

So all in all, it’s probably accurate to say that CLS is the place that has had the most impact on my life. And I hope to be able to give back to CLS so it can make a difference in other’s lives as well.

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